Life as a Romanian Orphan

"We were not allowed out - and most of the time we were not even allowed to play. It was really boring because there was nothing to do. "

"The staff used to beat us a lot. I think they liked it. Sometimes they would get drunk and then they would hit us really hard. "

"We had a shower once a week, but the carers didn’t want to touch us so we washed each other. Often we didn't have any hair [it was shaved off periodically to avoid head lice]."

"Everything got a bit better when the volunteers came. But as soon as they left, things went back to normal."

"The charity took us on a trip to the Black Sea and the mountains. It was really exciting. To start with, I was a bit scared of the waves, and I also didn’t like the idea of wearing just a swimming costume!
"But in the end I loved it. That trip was also the first time I ate ice cream."

[taken from BBC Photo Journal]